The Rt Rev Suheil Dawani, the Anglican Bishop in Jerusalem and Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem that includes Gaza, after two hours of waiting was denied entry into the Gaza Strip at the Israeli EREZ security Crossing Point this morning along with Lutheran Bishop Mounib Younan.

A spokesman for the Anglican diocese said that both Bishops were on a pastoral visit to include the al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza, an institution of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, and to members of their communities as part of a five-member delegation of the Jerusalem Heads of Church. The decision for the pastoral visit was apparently made two weeks ago and negotiations for the permits were begun with the Israeli authorities for that purpose. They had been informed that their request to enter Gaza had been granted. But the stated decision to deny them entry into the Gaza Strip today by the Israeli EREZ authorities was that they were both Palestinians, even though both hold Jerusalem Israeli IDs. Among those from the delegation allowed to enter the Gaza Strip was Archbishop Aris Shirvanian of the Armenian Patriarchate in Jerusalem (who also holds the same Identification Card as both Bishops), Ethiopian Archbishop Abba Matias, and Latin Church Patriarch Fouad Twal.